04/21/2025
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-- Stay calm. Keep your horse quiet and calm.
-- Remove all food. Offer water only from the ground.
-- DO NOT PUT ANYTHING INTO THE HORSEβS MOUTH
-- Massage the left side of the neck. If you feel a lump, concentrate there. Work from the jaw down towards the shoulder.
-- If signs do not resolve in 30 minutes, call your veterinarian. Do not wait overnight thinking it will pass.
-- Aspiration pneumonia risk increases as time goes by β this can be fatal. Speak to your veterinarian about antibiotics after the choke has resolved.
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β’ Choke is an esophageal obstruction due to feed material β grain, hay, or, less commonly, things like hedge apples, carrots, etc. Rarely, foreign objects like pieces of wood, rocks, etc. are found.
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β’ Signs include gagging, saliva and mucus from the nostrils and mouth, coughing, retching. Some horses may roll or paw as if they are colicky.
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β’ Improper dentition β sharp points, missing teeth, loose teeth
β’ Eating too fast β not chewing enough prior to swallowing
β’ Not enough saliva
β’ Stricture in the esophagus from previous choke, tumor
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β’ If the choke does not resolve on its own, your veterinarian should be called.
β’ While waiting for the vet, massage the neck for 10 minutes. Then walk the horse for 10 minutes - move the head side to side and up and down. Then place the horse in a stall for 10 minutes and leave alone. Repeat this sequence until your vet arrives.
β’ The horse will be evaluated β heart rate, temperature, respiratory rate, lung sounds.
β’ The horse will be sedated heavily to encourage the head to be low to the ground. This serves multiple purposes: pain management, relaxation of the esophagus, and
encourage gravity flow of all water instilled into the esophagus via the nasogastric tube.
β’ A nasogastric tube is passed into the esophagus to the level of the obstruction. Water is flushed and the tube pressed against the obstruction to get it to move into the stomach.
β’ Sometimes, the obstruction is too extensive, too dry, or is not feed material. Some of these cases require referral to a clinic for endoscopy, IV fluid therapy, and further care.
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β’ Dehydration and electrolyte loss. Since the horse cannot drink and is losing sometimes large amounts of saliva, the horse can become dehydrated quickly if left unresolved. Initially, the gut will dehydrate β as the body pulls water from the GI tract into the
circulation. If the situation continues to be unresolved, the horse will become systemically dehydrated.
β’ Aspiration pneumonia is a real and significant risk. The risk increases as time goes by. Pleuropneumonia (where the infection results in fluid within the chest) can occur as quickly as 12 hours after a choke episode if left untreated. Antibiotics after a choke
episode are frequently required to prevent pneumonia. The type of antibiotic is based on veterinarian preference, how long the choke had been going on, and the patient status (age, other health concerns).
β’ Stricture at the obstruction site. This can occur if the obstruction is left or if the material is damaging enough to cause a circumferential scar which shrinks down to cause a stricture.
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β’ Regular dental exams and floats. Young and old horses should have exams twice a year, middle aged horses once a year.
β’ If your horse has choked in the past, using a pelleted diet that is easily digested can be helpful.
β’ Soaking the feed can help slow down eating and also help the feed pass through the esophagus.
β’ Using large rocks or slow feeder pans can help reduce bolting of food. Feeding separated can also help reduce speed-eating due to bullies.
β’ Feed from the ground β this has been shown to increase chewing, increase saliva production, and slow the horse down when eating.
